Sir Michael Wilshaw: Nobody can argue against the benefits of phonics

[Debbie_Hepplewhite]

It's very good to see the chief inspector of Ofsted (the inspectorate), Sir Michael Wilshaw, heading up a pro-phonics piece in the Times Educational Supplement!

I'm posting this link on the 'Around the World: News and Events' forum as well because I think it is an important piece in a number of ways, not least being that we still have influential union leaders in England still undermining the importance of the official introduction of systematic synthetic phonics in England and decrying the introduction of the statutory Year One Phonics Screening Check which is so very important in moving the profession along to adopt SSP teaching (although bear in mind that many teachers provide SSP teaching alongside multi-cueing reading strategies which is not great!):

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/br ... ts-phonics

Wilshaw: 'Nobody can argue against the benefits of phonics'

Richard Vaughan
27th October 2015


The teaching of phonics has been one the most significant factors behind the increasing success of primary schools in England, according to the head of Ofsted.

Debate over the method has become hugely fraught, with opponents of phonics claiming it is tantamount to “child abuse”.

And in a move that is likely to fan the flames, Her Majesty’s chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has stated that “nobody can still convincingly argue that systematic phonics isn’t the most effective method of teaching children to read”.

Sir Michael makes his comments in the first of what will be a monthly series of commentaries on the education system, in which he claims that primary schools are responsible for “highly impressive and encouraging statistics”.

One of the key drivers behind the success of primary schools, he says, is the widespread teaching of synthetic phonics.

“While far from universally popular when first introduced, the emphasis on phonics teaching is certainly bearing fruit,” Sir Michael writes. “As noted recently by schools minister Nick Gibb, the national phonics screening check demonstrates continuing, strong progress in this vital area of learning for the youngest pupils.

He adds: “Surely nobody can still convincingly argue that systematic phonics isn’t the most effective method of teaching children to read. The structured yet engaging way in which this is being done is something my inspectors increasingly report.”

The chief inspector also points to the teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar as another important factor behind the primary success story. But such benefits are being lost by the time pupils enter secondary education, he says.

In his own blog, Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT headteachers' union, refutes Sir Michael’s claims, stating that the relative stability of the primary sector is a major contributor to the success of schools.

“Could it be that politicians' desire to look busy with reform could actually be one of the things standing in the way of a truly successful education system? It is notable, for instance, that the steady gains in literacy that we're seeing at the end of primary actually precede the introduction of the government's flagship phonics screening check. The chief inspector could usefully draw attention to the price of excessive of change.”

It's quite shameful that we don't appear to have a single teachers' union leader in England that is knowledgeable about the benefits of modern systematic synthetic phonics teaching, based on the international research on reading instruction and leading-edge practice. They just don't 'get it' but neither do they seem to have any will or wherewithal to update their knowledge and understanding even though, in England it is right under their nose if they cared to investigate. Dearie me.

[Debbie_Hepplewhite]

Click on this link to view the thread focused on the results/issues of the statutory Year One Phonics Screening Check in England:

England's 2015 Year One Phonics Screening Check results:

http://www.iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewto ... ?f=3&t=471

Click on this link to see IFERI's page on promoting the use of the free Year One Phonics Screening Check internationally:

http://www.iferi.org/resources-and-guidance/

Click on this link to see an IFERI blog posting on the use of the Year One Phonics Screening Check in a school in Australia:

Why we use the Phonics Screening Check in Australia:

http://www.iferi.org/why-we-use-the-pho ... australia/

[Dick Schutz]

The Chief Inspector's ringing endorsement is welcome, but the school reports cited indicate that his Inspectors' understanding of "phonics" is weak:

Stoke-Hill
The teaching of reading is a strength in all classes. Teachers develop phonics (sounds that letters make)
specifically every day. Teachers and teaching assistants also take every opportunity during the day to
extend pupils’ phonic (letter sounds) awareness, for example pronouncing names of plants and leaves
correctly

Buckden
Reading is well taught throughout the school. Pupils learn phonics (the sounds that letters represent) in a
systematic way, on a daily basis, beginning in the early years. This provides pupils with a secure
foundation for reading development as they move through the school.
 A computer-based reading system allows individual pupils to practise reading both in school and at home.
They regularly check their levels of comprehension and assess their own progress. Teachers also access
this information to monitor whether or not pupils’ progress in reading is sufficient. The school library
contains an extremely wide selection of stimulating fiction and non-fiction texts to support learning across
subjects and reading for pleasure.


Nevertheless, more ringing endorsements are needed.

[Debbie_Hepplewhite]

Here is Sir Michael Wilshaw's article about improvements in primary schools in England - and apparently this launches the new 'monthly commentary' he has stated he intends to write!

This is the first monthly commentary from Sir Michael Wilshaw. This month's commentary looks at the improving performance of primary schools.

Sir Michael Wilshaw

As Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, I am in the privileged position of being able to talk on a frequent basis to hundreds of school leaders, teachers and inspectors from across the country about the important issues facing our education system today. This dialogue gives me a valuable insight into what is happening in the nation’s schools and colleges. Along with the evidence from the thousands of inspections that Ofsted carries out each year, it helps me to focus on the issues and challenges that face us.

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/ ... tober-2015

So what has driven this improving performance?

I would contend that a key factor has been the greater emphasis on the structure of language in the primary curriculum and its focus on ensuring that all pupils get a solid grounding in the basic knowledge, understanding and skills that form the foundation of children’s learning.

Of course, this focus on structure started some years ago with the national literacy and numeracy strategies. However, there can be little doubt that it has been sharpened still further over the past 5 years.

The emphasis on high-quality, effective synthetic phonics teaching from the early years onwards is an integral part of the Teachers’ Standards guidance published 4 years ago. Teachers have increasingly got to grips with the rules and the lexicon of phonics. Terms like blending and segmenting, phonemes and digraphs are firmly embedded in the classroom vocabulary.

More importantly, teachers have become proficient in teaching phonics in a way that engages and enthuses the youngest children in primary schools.

While far from universally popular when first introduced, the emphasis on phonics teaching is certainly bearing fruit. As noted recently by Schools Minister Nick Gibb, the national phonics screening check demonstrates continuing, strong progress in this vital area of learning for the youngest pupils.

Surely nobody can still convincingly argue that systematic phonics isn’t the most effective method of teaching children to read. The structured yet engaging way in which this is being done is something my inspectors increasingly report.

[My red colouring!]

Do read the whole commentary - it is not that long.

I hope that other English-speaking countries and contexts where English is taught as an additional language, will pay heed to these findings in England.

[Debbie_Hepplewhite]

Part of my work involves visiting schools in the role of consultant/trainer and whilst I see a lot of very hard-working teachers, I don't see the children getting sufficient phonics application and practice or the right kind of practice.

In light of my observations, I drew up this graphic to illustrate the different types of phonics provision typically seen:

http://www.phonicsinternational.com/for ... .php?t=847

Teachers have been misled in many cases as to what good phonics provision can really 'look like'.

Whilst the national average figure for children reaching or exceeding the benchmark (32 out of 40 words read correctly and plausibly) in the statutory Year One Phonics Screening Check reached 77% in 2015, this still means that 6 or more children out of a class of 30 in Year One are not reaching that benchmark. Schools in the weakest ten authorities may have around 9 out of 30 children not reaching the benchmark.

Even in England, then, where Systematic Synthetic Phonics is statutory and heavily promoted by the government, many teachers still promote the multi-cueing reading strategies for word-guessing and still too many children are not being taught phonics effectively enough.

When we have inspectors writing in reports about the 'sounds that letters make' when no letters make any sounds (they represent the sounds or they are code for the sounds), we are clearly still not professionally sophisticated enough. We expect infants to talk in terms of 'phonemes' and 'graphemes' on the one hand whilst the inspectors themselves write about the 'sounds that the letters make' on the other hand. How ironic is that!